CNN
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A week after announcing her presidential candidacy, Kamala Harris has yet to tell voters how she plans to tackle the major issues facing the country.
The vice president’s policies are likely to be in line with those of President Joe Biden, whom she has supported for the past four years.
But Harris is expected to bring her own style to the table on issues ranging from abortion to the economy to immigration, and she will have to walk a delicate balance between taking credit for her administration’s accomplishments while avoiding being held jointly responsible by voters for its shortcomings.
While her first presidential campaign speech offers some insight into her priorities, she mostly makes general points and doesn’t offer any more nuanced plans. Like Biden, she plans to contrast her vision for America with that of former President Donald Trump.
“Right now, I think we’re faced with a choice between two visions for our nation: one that focuses on the future, and one that focuses on the past,” she told members of the historically Black sorority Zeta Phi Beta at an event in Indianapolis on Wednesday. “With your support, I’m fighting for the future of our nation.”
That path forward is focused on lifting up working-class and middle-class Americans so they can join a union, retire with dignity, and live without fear. Harris stressed that ending gun violence and achieving affordable health care will be key priorities for the Biden administration. She also touted the administration’s efforts to lower drug costs, reduce child poverty, forgive student loan debt and remove medical debt from credit reports.
Here’s what we know about Harris’ views.
Harris has assumed a leading role in the administration in defending abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022. In January, she kicked off a multi-state “reproductive freedom tour” with a stop in Minnesota, believed to be the first time a sitting U.S. president or vice president has visited an abortion clinic.
When it comes to abortion access, Harris ran on a more progressive platform than Biden during the 2020 campaign, criticizing Biden’s previous support for the Hyde Amendment, which blocks federal funds from being used for most abortions.
Policy experts suggested that while Harris’ current policies on abortion and reproductive rights may not differ much from Biden’s, she may be a stronger message bearer as a result of her national tours and her own focus on maternal health.
Rising prices are a top concern for many Americans struggling to pay the bills after a period of skyrocketing inflation, and many voters have given Biden poor marks for his handling of the economy, meaning Harris could face their wrath.
In early campaign speeches, Harris has repeated many of the same themes as Biden, saying she wants to give Americans more opportunities to get ahead, particularly by making health care, child care, elder care and family leave more affordable and accessible.
Her 2020 campaign pledges show she tends to be more progressive than Biden’s.
Harris, a senator and 2020 presidential candidate, proposed giving middle-class and working families a refundable tax credit of up to $6,000 per couple per year to help cover living expenses. The bill, called the “LIFT the Middle Class Act,” was estimated at the time to cost $3 trillion over 10 years.
Unlike regular tax credits, the bill would allow taxpayers to receive up to $500 a month in benefits, preventing families from having to turn to high-interest payday loans.
As a presidential candidate, Harris also advocated raising the corporate tax rate to 35%, but the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that Trump and Republicans pushed through Congress lowered the rate to 21%, higher than the 28% proposed by Biden.
Affordable housing has also been an issue for Harris. As a senator, she introduced the Rent Relief Act, which would have created a refundable tax credit for renters who spend more than 30% of their annual gross income on rent and utilities. The credit ranges from 25% to 100% of the excess rent, depending on the renter’s income.
Harris has called housing a human right and said in a 2019 news release about the bill that every American deserves basic safety and dignity in their own home.
High student loan debt is also a concern for Harris. As vice president, Harris has been driving the Biden administration’s efforts on student loan debt, which have forgiven more than $168 billion in debt to about 4.8 million borrowers. In mid-July, Harris wrote in an X post that “about 950,000 public servants have benefited from student loan debt forgiveness,” up from just 7,000 when Biden took office.
That momentum could continue with a Harris administration, but some of Biden’s efforts are mired in litigation. The program is intended to reduce monthly payments for about 3 million student loan borrowers who are taking part in a repayment plan implemented by the government last year.
Harris has advocated moving the US to a government-sponsored health insurance system, but stopped short of tossing out private insurance altogether during the 2020 campaign. Her bill calls for a 10-year transition to a Medicare-for-All type system, but would still allow private insurers to offer Medicare plans.
The proposal would not raise taxes on the middle class to pay for the expansion of health insurance coverage, but instead raise the necessary funds by taxing Wall Street trades and transactions and changing taxes on foreign corporate income.
On lowering drug costs, Harris has previously proposed allowing the federal government to set “fair prices” for drugs that are sold cheaper in economically comparable countries, such as Canada, the UK, France, Japan and Australia. If a drug company is found to be price gouging, the government can import the drug from overseas or, in egregious cases, use existing but never-used “march-in” powers to license the drug company’s patents to a rival company that produces the drug at a lower price.
Harris has been a climate and environmental justice advocate for decades. As California’s attorney general, she sued major oil companies including BP and ConocoPhillips and investigated ExxonMobil for its involvement in climate change disinformation. As a senator, she introduced a Green New Deal resolution. During the 2020 campaign, she supported a ban on fracking, but retracted it after becoming Biden’s running mate.
Biden is the most climate-aggressive president in history, and climate advocates see Harris as an attractive candidate. Democrats and climate activists plan to campaign on the stark contrast between Harris and Trump, who has vowed to decisively return the U.S. to fossil fuels, undo Biden’s climate and clean energy legacy and pull the U.S. away from global climate action.
If elected, one of the biggest climate goals Harris will have to set early in her administration will be how much the U.S. will reduce climate pollution by 2035, a requirement of the Paris Climate Agreement.
Biden tapped Harris to oversee diplomatic efforts in Central America in March 2021. The Department of Homeland Security will retain oversight responsibility for border security while Harris focuses on long-term solutions.
As the situation on the U.S.-Mexico border became a political weak spot for Biden, Ms. Harris spoke only sporadically about her efforts, but she added a unique touch to the administration’s efforts, bringing in the private sector.
Harris put together the Sino-American Partnership, which serves as a liaison between companies and the U.S. government. Her team and the partnership work closely on initiatives that will create jobs in the region. Harris also negotiates directly with foreign leaders in the region.
Experts have praised Harris’ ability to secure private investment as her most visible move in the region to date, but cautioned about the long-term sustainability of such investment.
The war between Israel and Hamas is the toughest foreign policy issue facing Israel and has sparked numerous protests across the United States since it began in October.
Harris delivered a powerful and noteworthy speech on the situation in Gaza after meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to these tragedies. We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to the suffering. And I will not be silent,” she said.
Harris echoed Biden’s repeated references to his “unwavering support” and “unwavering commitment” to Israel, saying Israel has the right to defend itself, but noted “how you defend it matters.”
But Harris’ empathy for the plight and suffering of the Palestinians was far more forceful than anything Biden has said on the subject in recent months. Harris twice referenced the “serious concerns” she expressed to Netanyahu about civilian deaths, the humanitarian situation and destruction in Gaza, calling the situation “catastrophic” and “devastating.”
She went on to describe “images of dead children, desperate and hungry people fleeing for safety, sometimes forced to flee a second, third or fourth time.”
Harris named the eight Israeli-American hostages, including the three who were killed, and stressed the need to release Israeli hostages being held by Hamas.
However, in describing the ongoing ceasefire agreement, she did not emphasize the acceptance of hostages for a prisoner exchange or aid for the Gaza Strip. Instead, she highlighted the fact that the ceasefire agreement provides for Israeli forces to withdraw from populated areas in a first phase, followed by a “complete” withdrawal from the Gaza Strip before a “permanent cessation of hostilities.”
Harris did not preside over Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday, choosing instead to continue with a planned trip to a sorority event in Indiana.
Harris has been committed to helping Ukraine fight Russian aggression, meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at least six times and last month announcing $1.5 billion in energy aid, humanitarian assistance and other assistance for the war-torn country.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference earlier this year, Harris said: “President Joe Biden and I will make it clear that we stand with Ukraine. With the support of bipartisan majorities in both houses of the United States Congress, we will work to secure the critical weapons and resources that Ukraine desperately needs. And let’s be clear: not doing so would be a gift to President Vladimir Putin.”
“More broadly, NATO is central to our approach to global security. For President Biden and me, our sacred commitment to NATO is unwavering. And as I’ve said before, I believe NATO is the greatest military alliance the world has ever known,” she said.
